BEAT

Less than a year after Discipline, King Crimson released their next album, Beat. For the first time in the band's history, their lineup remained identical on consecutive albums. Good job, guys! Beat draws much of its lyrical inspiration from writers of the Beat generation. I don't particularly care for Beat writers, so it's a good thing I'm not a lyrics guy.

"Neal and Jack and Me" features twangy, spiraling guitars, similar to those on Discipline, but between the rhythm and Belew's singing, this sounds more like a Talking Heads song than the hyper-technical, math-y new wave of the preceding album. (Belew was an occasional live guitarist for the Talking Heads. During a period of especially bad intra-band drama, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz approached Belew about replacing David Byrne, to which Belew declined.)

I'll continue the Talking Heads comparison on "Heartbeat". This song feels almost conventional. It's alright, but this poppy, melodic, mid-tempo cut reminds me of 90125, insofar as this is a good song, but not a particularly good King Crimson song (just as 90125 is a good album, but not a particularly good Yes album).

King Crimson finally starts sounding like ('80s) King Crimson on the instrumental "Sartori in Tangier". Fripp's guitar synthesizer squeaks out an unusual lead as Levin and Belew weave a wiry, rubbery backing. It's dark and moody, and it gives Levin a chance to flex his skills on the Chapman stick.

A tapping pattern opens "Waiting Man", and there's a warm, vaguely-Latin feel to the first verse. There's no percussion for the first half of this song, and even when it comes in, Bruford is fairly restrained.

Side two of Beat opens with "Neurotica", and rather than Talking Heads, the first riff sounds much Rush-ier. Belew's rapidfire babbling and the loose chaos of the verses establish this as a unique song. Structurally, this reminds me a lot of "Elephant Talk", but it's not a direct ripoff. I love all the weird flourishes Fripp and Belew put into the guitar lines.

"Two Hands" is a slower, quieter song, and I like Bruford's precise performance. Overall, though, this song doesn't make much of an impression. "The Howler", meanwhile, is fun and replete with strange guitar and synth chords, as well as nimble instrumental lines. This isn't Belew's strongest vocal performance, but I do like the swirling, uneasy guitar solo.

Beat ends on the instrumental "Requiem". There's an airy ambiance as the song opens with an extended, speedy guitar solo. Technically, it's impressive, but it fails to have much impact. As the song progresses, it only becomes more chaotic and tedious. This is clearly the band indulging in an extended improvisation, and I think I've made my thoughts known on how that usually turns out.

On CD reissues, a bonus track titled "Absent Lovers" was included, and I like it a lot. It's full of pep and verve, and I think it would have been a strong inclusion on Beat.

Overall, Beat is alright. It is comparable to In the Wake of Poseidon in that it's not a bad album, but it feels like a weaker version of the album which preceded it. King Crimson did this math-y new wave pretty well most of the time, but moments on Beat sounded a bit underbaked or uninspired.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2024/04/15/deep-dive-king-crimson/